The Female Advantage

Nov 21, 2013

There are fewer female advisors than male advisors; in fact, females make up only 12 percent of advisors in North America, according to PriceMetrix. But female advisors tend to have larger clients, a new report from the firm shows.

On average, clients of female advisors have $174,000, versus $152,000 for male advisors. Women average 56 large households (those with more than $250,000 in assets) and 72 small households (those with less than $250,000). That compares to 51 large households and 78 small households for male advisors.

“The evidence suggests that women are a little more discerning about who they do business with,” said Patrick Kennedy, vice president of product and client management at PriceMetrix. “A lot of our research would suggest that the clients that you choose to do business with and the mix of your clients has a direct correlation to your ability to grow.”

That said, the Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the financial advisor profession has the second highest wage gap between men and women, with women making 39 percent less than men. Kennedy believes that that data could include everyone who is Series 7 licensed, like licensed assistants and administrative professionals, not just producing financial advisors.